LONDON: Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic barely had to break sweat to make winning starts at Wimbledon as their injury-hit opponents retired hurt amid a plague of withdrawals that blighted the first round yesterday.
Federer is chasing a record eighth Wimbledon title and he was already well on top at the start of his 19th All England Club campaign when Alexandr Dolgopolov was forced to quit with an ankle injury.
The world number three raced into a 6-3, 3-0 in 43 minutes on Centre Court before the Ukrainian limped off.
Federer, who hit his 10,000th career ace in the eighth game of the first set, will face Dusan Lajovic for a place in the last 32.
“I felt like there was a bit of a letdown from the crowd. They couldn’t believe that it happened again, exactly the same situation,” said Federer, who recorded his 85th match win at Wimbledon, passing the mark he shared with Jimmy Connors.
Having unexpectedly won the Australian Open in January before taking the clay-court season off to rest, Federer, making a record-equalling 70th Grand Slam appearance, is the favourite to take the Wimbledon crown for the first time since 2012.
“Everybody’s got a chance to win Wimbledon and for me it’s no different. I already achieved my dream to be back here healthy. Now we’ll see how far I can go,” Federer said.
Djokovic, a three-time Wimbledon champion, was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Slovakian world number 47 Martin Klizan retired after just 40 minutes on Centre Court due to a calf problem.
The 30-year-old Serb will face Adam Pavlasek of the Czech Republic for a place in the last 32.
“He had issues walking on to court. I tried to focus on my game plan, I was serving well and when it mattered I made a break,” said Djokovic, , who is aiming to win a first Grand Slam title since last year’s French Open.
In total, there have been seven retirements from the men’s draw over the first two days, sparking talk that players were taking part, even though they were injured, to collect the £35,000 cheque for first round losers.
Serbia’s Janko Tipsarevic quit after just 15 minutes, trailing 5-0 to Jared Donaldson when he suffered a leg injury.
The 33-year-old was 5-0 down to Jared Donaldson when he quit with a leg injury, becoming the sixth man to retire from the first round.
That total soon became seven when Spain’s Feliciano Lopez, the Queen’s Club champion, retired trailing 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, 4-3 to France’s Adrian Mannarino.
“Lots of players fight through Challengers to get to the main draw of a Slam. They have to pay coaches and their teams,” Tipsarevic said.
“I was 110 percent sure that I had torn my right hamstring, I could hardly walk. But the doctor said all seemed clear,” said Tipsarevic.
“I was expecting him to say that I had broken a tendon. I even took an epidural in my lower back.
The most impressive winner on the day was Milos Raonic, last year’s Wimbledon runner-up, who beat Jan-Lennard Struff 7-6 (7/5), 6-2, 7-6 (7/4).
Argentina’s Juan Martin Del Potro, a semi-finalist in 2013, defeated Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 as the 29th seed moved towards a potential third round classic against Djokovic.
Meanwhile, Australia’s Bernard Tomic said he had lost his “respect” for tennis following his lacklustre 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 loss to Mischa Zverev.
“I don’t know why but I felt a little bit bored out there, to be completely honest,” Tomic said.
French 22nd seed Richard Gasquet slumped to a 6-3, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 loss against Spain’s David Ferrer.
Dominic Thiem, the Austrian eighth seed, blitzed Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, while 2010 Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-4.